IND A vs NZ A, 2nd unofficial Test, Review: India A clean sweep the visitors as they collapse on the final day

India A has completely dominated the two-match Test series against New Zealand A and has swept them by 2-0 in the one-sided contest. The first match was also won by the hosts by an innings and 31 runs. Now they trumped the black caps by a similar margin and won the game by an innings and 26 runs. New Zealand batsmen struggled in both the matches and were not able to cross the 225-run mark in the series. On the other hand, Indians enjoyed the home conditions and spun a web around them to register comprehensive victories.

The visitors began the day in the comfortable position of 104/1, 132 runs adrift of the first innings lead taken by India. They were expecting to survive the day and draw the match but they collapsed in the post-lunch session and lost the game. The spinners led by Karn Sharma bamboozled them as they lost their last 8 wickets for just 52 runs. While Karn scalped a brilliant five-wicket haul, the left-arm spinner Shahbaz Nadeem supported him well and returned with the figures of 4/41. The match was played with the pink ball as BCCI decided to extend its trial from Duleep Trophy.

What happened earlier in the game?

The Kiwis won an all-important toss and opted to bat first but the lacklustre performance of the batsmen continued. Colin Munro was the only batsman who fought gamely and scored 65 runs. He was well supported Jeet Raval and Tim Seifert who were dismissed in the 40s and were unable to score big. Shardul Thakur was the wrecker in chief who scalped the wickets at the top and didn’t let them settle. The spinners then took control, as usual, to bundle them out for a paltry 211.

In reply, India A rode on the magnificent ton from Ankit Bawne who amassed an unbeaten 162 and his knock was studded with 21 fours and five sixes. Shreyas Iyer and Parthiv Patel also registered crucial half-centuries which helped them post a mammoth total of 447 runs and took the lead of 226 runs over the visitors. Ish Sodhi, the lanky spinner, was the pick of the bowlers with three wickets for New Zealand but conceded runs at almost 5 an over.

But Henry Nicholls the skipper could not motivate his batsmen enough in their second essay as they squandered the overnight position of 104/1 and with that all the hopes of saving the game. He missed out on his well-deserved century by just 6 runs and led from the front and returned to the hut in the middle of the collapse. Only 4 batsmen of the line-up could reach the double figures as others looked helpless on the tour itself.

They would love to improve their performance in the 5-match ODI series which will begin on October 6. The players would be excited to take the field and prove their mettle as the selectors will pick 6 players from the ‘A’ squad for the ODI and T20I series against India at the international level. The senior team of Kiwis will start their tour of India on October 23 in Mumbai.

Brief Scores

New Zealand A 211/10 in 69.5 overs (C Munro 65); (S Thakur 3/34)

India A 447/10 in 110 overs (A Bawne 162*); (I Sodhi 3/120)

New Zealand A 210/10 in 79.3 overs (H Nicholls 94); (K Sharma 5/78)

India A won the match by an innings and 26 runs.